France: The pension reform law has passed the constitutionality test and can be promulgated. Police increase security in Paris
France's Constitutional Council has approved an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 proposed by President Macron, rejecting a call for a referendum, the BBC reports, quoted by Digi24. At the same time, the Constitutional Council said some articles of the controversial reform have legal flaws.
Some measures relating to incentives for hiring older people, the so-called "senior index", aimed at urging companies with more than 1,000 workers to take on employees over 55, were rejected.
The opposition's call for a referendum on pension reform was also rejected. A decision on another such request is expected on 3 May.
In the context of the Council's decision, President Emmanuel Macron is expected to promulgate the pension reform law in the coming days.
In March, the government used a special constitutional power to push through the reforms without a parliamentary vote. President Emmanuel Macron's government says the changes are essential to prevent the system from collapsing.
Friday night's ruling was greeted with boos and jeers from protesters near the Constitutional Council building in central Paris. Authorities banned demonstrations outside the building until Saturday morning. Some demonstrators have announced they will continue to protest until the changes are withdrawn. Barricades have been erected in the streets near the court and riot police have been deployed in preparation for further potentially violent protests.
France has been plagued by violent protests since January, when the French government drafted a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. People's main grievance is the increase in the retirement age.
